An arbitrary project accumulates odd details in order to make it work...

That dream occurred 20 years ago, and Huibers has been ark-obsessed ever since. Despite his wife’s misgivings, he built an ark in 2004 that was roughly half the size of the specifications listed in the Bible. He guided the craft through the myriad canals of the Netherlands, and it proved such a hit among tourists, who were charged seven bucks apiece to climb aboard, that it financed Huibers’ true dream — building an ark every bit as big as Noah’s.“Johan’s Ark” clocks in at 450 feet long, true to the Bible’s account of a 300 cubit-long ship (in ancient times, a cubit was the length of a man’s arm from elbow to fingertips, or roughly 18 inches). The ark weighs in at a whopping 2,970 tons, and is constructed of Swedish pine, which Huibers told The New York Times is in keeping with God’s command to Noah that the ark be built of resin wood.

Life-sized plastic elephant: $11,000. I wonder whether the plastic flamingos (all the animals except for 2 chickens are plastic) are cheap off the shelf flamingos. He's planning on adding more real animals-- I assume doves and ravens are on the list.